JDubb's Sideline Report

How does one lose their job by winning? Easy, by not winning the games that count. I believe Mark Richt could had stayed at the University of Georgia until he felt like he didn’t want to coach anymore. I believe most uga fans would had been ok with that, but there were some that wanted more. To be honest, some of the faithful believed he didn’t have what it took to win the big game. That’s up for debate for sure, but there is one thing that is crystal clear: UGA is done settling for 10 wins. This is why Mark Richt was shown the door and why Greg McGarity brought in Kirby Smart, a UGA man, to take the bulldogs to another level- a championship level.

Coach smart comes with many high accolades and an prestigious resume. Under the guidance of Nick Saban, Smart moved up the coaching ranks pretty quick while he was at Alabama. He was voted Assistant Coach of the Year in 2012 and was voted the Broyles Award for the nations best assistant coach in 2009. In 2013, Smart was given a $200,000 salary increase to make him the highest-paid defensive coordinator in College Football. While at Alabama, Kirby Smart earned a reputation to have the best defense in the country year in/out. Now he comes home, to Athens, to install that same style defense. That same style of toughness that won so many national championships for Alabama.

There won’t be much of a talent drop-off as UGA is loaded on defense and other skill positions. This year, coach smart got one of the best defensive backs in the country in Richard LeCounte III out of Hinesville, GA. He also grabbed one of the best defensive ends in the nation with Robert Beal from Peachtree Ridge. Obviously, recruiting is a strong suit of Coach Smart. He knows the state of Georgia and he knows where to find quality football players. Georgia is known as one of the best states to produce high school football talent, the only problem is that everyone loves to recruit the state. If Kirby can lock the state for UGA, he could produce something special in the near future. Of course that’s a tall order considering the quality of coaches in the SEC and ACC.

What do I expect out of Kirby Smart? Well, I expect him to bring in some of the best players in the nation to the University of Georgia. I expect him to become a really good coach at Georgia. Time will tell if that will happen. He has everything he needs to win in Athens. He’s got the financial backing, he’s got the alumni backing, he’s got the coaches and players backing, and he’s even got the recruiting aspect down. What he doesn’t have is a championship and he knows he’s on the clock because what he was brought in for was to win, and win BIG.

 

2016 was the year of the Tiger-The Clemson Tiger that is. It was thirty five years in the making.  Guided by one of the most prolific quarterbacks in Clemson history, Deshaun Watson and the Clemson Tigers defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide 35-31 in the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship game. This was not a Cinderella season, something that no one saw coming. We all saw it 365 days earlier, when these two same teams battled for the same trophy, only with Clemson being on the losing end. You could see it in the eyes of #4. As he was walking off the field, watching Alabama celebrate, you could tell he was ready for round 2. He knew he would be back. So did Dabo. So did Clemson! And they did!

Now I ask myself, what does Dabo and company do for an encore? There are plenty of questions surrounding this team coming into the 2017 season, none more than who replaces Deshaun Watson. How do you replace the nation’s top quarterback the past two seasons? Also, how do you replace key play makers like Mike Williams, Wayne Gallman, and Artavis Scott? The answer lies in recruiting-and Dabo is dang good at it.

One way to secure the Quarterback position is to get the best available, and Dabo has secured both top spots for 2017 and 2018. Hunter Johnson, a kid from Brownsburg, Indiana chose Clemson over schools like Notre Dame, Miami, and Florida. That’s saying something when you steal a kid from Notre Dame’s backyard. And for 2018, Trevor Lawrence from Cartersville, GA. The 5 star signal caller is 6-6, 196 lbs  fits into the Deshaun Watson size and mold. Both of these cats come with a great resume in high school, but we all know the college game is an entirely different arena. They both also will have to beat out Junior Kelly Bryant, who is the leading candidate to replace Deshaun Watson.

At receiver, Dabo landed the #2 WR in the nation with Tee Higgins. Higgins was recruited by everyone. At 6-5, 190 lbs and you know he will just get bigger and stronger. At running back, from Jennings, LA, comes Travis Etienne who scouts consider as the total package at running back and is one of the most underrated backs in the 2017 class. These are just a few names of the large amount of talent coming to Death Valley and Dabo has no plans of slowing down brining in these types of players.

Clemson is no longer a one-trick poney that shows up once a generation to shock you. In their graveyard, you will see names of their victims: Oklahoma, LSU, Ohio St., and Alabama just to name a few. There was once a time when the Tigers were known to put on a good poker face, only to fold and break your heart sometime during the season, but no more. Dabo has changed that. He has single handedly changed the culture of the football program and everyone is noticing it. This new version of “Clemsoning” is winning and it looks like they’re just getting started.

 

Source: Chasing the Bear

Source: Chasing the Bear

 Bear Byant used to say “It’s not the will to win that matters – everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.” Coach Byant was a man of few words, but when he spoke, people paved attention, especially his players. He demanded hard work and installed a winning attitude on his football team. That winning attitude brought six national titles to the University of Alabama. Bear Bryant is known as one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, yet, someone may surpass his legendary status(could be premature/sacrilegious) one day. The future legend I speak of, is none other than Nick Saban.

Before coach Saban took one step in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide went through several years of trying to replace Bear Bryant. Maybe there were unrealistic expectations? Who knows, but the bar that Bear Byrant set at the University of Alabama was so high, each coach that walked onto that campus was going to be compared to the Bear. Gene Stallings is the lone exception and he was good(won the 1992 National Title), but he was unable to consistently win and that eventually led him to resign. After a couple of decades of obscurity, bama landed their man-Nick Saban. Now, coach Saban does not have street signs named after him nor is the stadium named after him. However, his fingerprint is etched in his work. You could say that his work ethic, winning attitude, and disciplined nature rubs off on everyone that is around him. Winning is his blood type and he doesn’t know how to function any other way. After nine seasons, he has compiled a record of 101-18 with a winning percentage of .849. Add a long 5 National Titles(4 with Alabama, 1 with LSU), Nick Saban knows how to win, and win some more.

Defense is the name of the game when you talk about Nick Saban. You like stats? Check this out: In the 2011 season, Alabama’s defense only gave up 8.2 points a game. And they only allowed 72.2 rushing yards a game. Not only that, the Tide allowed only 183.6 total yards per game AND 111.5 passing yards per game. Those three averages are the best marks for any defense since the turn of the century. That’s mind-boggling considering today’s college football landscape.

When asked what he enjoyed about winning, he replied “I certainly like to win. But I really hate to lose. So when you think about that, you’re always motivated to, ‘I don’t want to lose the next game. I don’t want to lose the next game.” I read this and ask myself ” does he like to win a lot or is he afraid to lose?” It could be both! This is what I know: If Nick Saban continues to bring championships to Alabama, he could very well be remembered as the greatest college football coach of all time, and even better-I dare say, Bear Bryant.

Continue reading “Summer doesn’t last forever.”